Homes spared: the power of succulents

Two houses that were spared in the Santa Barbara fires are the subject of a Wall St. Journal article. One was the home of Farrokh "Fred" Ashtiani, an amateur botanist who had packed his property with dozens of succulent species hoping his "garden of pleasure" would retard an inevitable blaze.

Did the garden save his house? Perhaps luck played a role, but this would be not the first case of a wisely planted garden being credited with sparing a house. In November 2007 the Times ran a similar story on water-rich plants at a Rancho Santa Fe residence keeping flames at bay.

Succulents have soared in popularity recently because they're drought-tolerant, easy-care and just plain cool to look at, and now there's another compelling reason to grow them: They're fire-retardant. During last month's wildfires, succulents -- which by definition store water in plump leaves and stems -- apparently stopped a blaze in its tracks.

"Succulents saved our home!" Suzy and Rob Schaefer wrote in a jubilant e-mail to friends and family after they returned to their fire-ravaged neighborhood in Rancho Santa Fe....

Their garden of aloes, agaves, euphorbias and more -- created by Suzy with the help of San Diego landscape architect Robert Dean -- encircles the Southwest-style home, which is adjacent to a palm- and eucalyptus-filled canyon. The garden is intact, but many of the canyon's trees are blackened skeletons.

A tentacle of the Witch Creek fire, driven by high winds, roared down the canyon, which runs along the edge of the Schaefers' back yard.

"Flames came within 6 feet of the house, then stopped," Suzy says.

Shielding the most vulnerable corner of their home is a common, unassuming succulent that is common yet has no common name: Aloe arborescens. As it held off the flames, its fleshy leaves cooked and turned the color of putty....

Eddie Villavicencio, deputy fire marshal for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, affirms that succulents are fire-retardant, especially jade and cactus. An exception are "certain ice plants, which if not well-maintained can be flammable underneath."

His department, which also monitors erosion control, cautions against planting trailing ground covers such as Hottentot fig (Carpobrotus edulis) atop steep slopes; its moisture-filled leaves are heavy and roots too shallow to hold the soil....

The story, by Debra Lee Baldwin, the author of "Designing With Succulents" (Timber Press: 2007), included these top choices for firescaping:

Here's a list of the best succulents for firebreaks. They are readily available, can be cultivated from offsets or cuttings and fill in nicely with minimal care. Give them fast-draining soil and a full-sun location. Regular irrigation will promote lushness but is not essential.

Agave: Most common is Agave americana (century plant), but it gets as big as a Volkswagen -- too large for most gardens. Many smaller agaves can be found in nurseries; a particularly lovely one is A. americana 'Mediopicta Alba' (3 to 4 feet tall and as wide).

Aloe: These range from fist-sized (Aloe nobilis, A. brevifolia) to tall trees (A. barberae, A. dichotoma). Common A. arborescens (at right) is considered mid-sized, but clumps become massive over time.

Crassula: Crassula ovata (jade plant) is the best-known shrub succulent; variegated varieties are bright yellow or green-and-cream. Similar in form is C. arborescens (silver dollar jade). A good ground cover for slopes and shady areas is C. multicava, which has dark green, oval leaves.

Portulacaria afra: This shrub succulent resembles jade but has red stems and smaller leaves. A yellow variegate grows lower to the ground and makes a good ornamental ground cover.

Senecio: Rapidly gaining in popularity is Senecio mandraliscae, a succulent ground cover that looks like blue French fries.

Opuntia (prickly pear): Cactuses with paddle-shaped leaves serve as both firebreak and security fence (and are used as such in Mexico). Most have needle-like spines, but a spineless variety exists.

Plus, see this earlier story for more on fire-safe landscaping.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: The Aloe arborescens in the foreground kept fire away from Suzy Schaefer's home in Rancho Santa Fe in fall 2007. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[LA Land Fan]

This is a very good and relevant story post. Thanks Lauren. I think native plants should be what most folks have in their yards, not just the fire prone areas. Seems like we've been in a drought the past few years, but the majority of people haven't caught on. I've only have noticed light media coverage and radio spots alerting citizens to conserve water. There was also a cursory mention to conserve during the news coverage of the wildfires. I think it is time to make water conservation mandatory and not voluntary. I know officials are weak and too afraid to be unpopular, but it's time to get tough. No more water wasting green lawns please. Maybe taxing people for excessive water usage. Or tax incentives for ripping out the lawn. I don't want to end up like the state of Georgia, where they seemed to have waited until the last possible moment to ask their citizens to conserve.

[syscom3]

I remember back in the 1993 Laguna Beach fire, we were watching (on TV) houses burning along a steep slope, except for one. He had succulents planted along the slopes.

It was surreal to see so much damage being done to his neighbors, except his house.